JERUSALEM, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an Israeli news website Monday that if he is elected in Tuesday's national elections, "there will be no Palestinian state."

"I think that anyone who moves to establish a Palestinian state and evacuate territory, gives territory away to radical Islamist attacks against Israel," Netanyahu told the NRG website.

Asked directly whether no Palestinian state would be created under his leadership, the prime minister answered "Indeed."

Netanyahu's remarks come against the backdrop of parliamentary elections in Israel, where surveys show the center-left Zionist Union coalition gaining a four-seat lead on Netanyahu's Likud party.